Solved: Re: Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for S... - Page 23

Ani_ · ‎04-22-2021

Hi Seller Community!

I'm excited to announce the Small Business Administration has developed a partnership with Square to distribute the Restaurants Revitalization Fund (RRF) relief to the food and drink industry. The Restaurants Revitalization Fund (RRF) is part of the U.S. Government’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This plan includes a $28.6B fund for awards to eligible food and beverage business owners, administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

On Thursday, April 29th at 1:30-2:30 PM PST /4:30 PM-5:30 EST, we'll host a Live Q&A with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to answer any of your questions about the application process. Please make sure to ask any questions directly on this thread below. Keep in mind, the SBA will only be addressing questions related to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), not PPP.

How does the application process work?

We expect to start enabling applications for the Restaurants Revitalization Fund (RRF) on Monday, May 3rd at 12:00 PM EST. The award application program is owned by the SBA, and they are finalizing the process. We know how important these funds are to you and your business, so we are working as quickly as possible to get the application ready!

Unlike the PPP program, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund are awards and are not loans. They are not serviced as loans, and have no forgiveness component. There are no intermediary banks involved. Awards are determined by and allocated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and not Square.

If you qualify for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant, you’ll have the option to apply Monday, May 3rd on Square Dashboard or through the SBA’s secure website. To help support applicants throughout the process, the SBA will offer phone and district office support.

Call center hotline (844-279-8898): Applicants can call this number for multi-lingual application or program support.
SBA District Offices: Applicants can reach out to their local District Office for tailored regional SBA support.

For more information about eligibility or to start your application, please visit the SBA Portal. You can also find more information about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund on the Support Center. Let us know if you have any questions for the SBA below!

Note: The SBA has announced that they will officially stop accepting applications for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) on Monday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

On Thursday 5/29, we hosted a Q&A with the US Small Business Administration about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

In the Q&A, the SBA and Square answered questions about the application process — from general eligibility requirements to more specific information that applied to individual sellers.

Here’s some important information that applies to most sellers:

When can you apply:
- Applications start on Monday 5/3 at 12:00 p.m EST / 9:00 a.m. PST.
- The SBA has a registration window open on Friday 4/30, but if you plan to apply through Square you do not need to register with the SBA.

Who can apply through Square:
- To determine if you are an eligible business type, you’ll need to visit SBA’s website (sba.gov/restaurants).
- If you processed with Square in 2019 and 2020 (Table 1 or 2 in the RRF application), you can apply through Square’s dashboard or the SBA. If you used multiple POS providers during that period or had supplemental income e.g. from online ordering apps, you can still apply with Square. You’ll be able to add supplementary income information — but the SBA may require you to provide additional documentation before you e-sign your application.
- If you began processing with Square in 2020 or 2021 (Table 3 in the RRF application), then you will need to apply through the SBA. You can get useful information from your Square account to include in your application — to learn how, please take a look at our Support Center.

Why you should or should not apply with Square:
- If you apply through Square can save time completing and submitting your application with pre filled data from your Square account.
- Submitting through Square can help you get your application in front of the SBA quickly — before the RRF funds run out.
- Square will enable you to add supplemental revenue information in your application for either Table 1 or Table 2 applicant. However, if you are a Table 3 applicant, you will need to apply via SBA because Square will not let you upload supporting documentation for eligible expenses.

How can you apply with Square:
- If you are eligible to apply through Square, you’ll need to log in to your dashboard when the application window opens, using the owner’s login. From there, you’ll find a specific RRF module from where you can start your application.
- Square will have pre-filled your application with the information we know about your business. That said, there is information we do not have access to. To complete your application as fast as possible we recommend to have the following information handy:
  - The date (day, month, and year) you began operations.
  - How many months you operate in every location. This is especially important if you operate a seasonal business.
  - Any additional income you may have earned in 2019 and 2020 that was not processed through Square. Ideally you are tracking this income by location. If this information is not available feel free to distribute this across locations ensuring the total revenue by location (through Square and other sources)stays under $5M.
  - Your PPP loan information — especially if you did not process these loans with Square.
- After submitting your award application through your Square Dashboard, you’ll need to eSign your application. Here’s how it works:
  - Open an email from Square with the title “Your RRF award application is not yet complete.” Follow the link in the email to visit the SBA portal.
  - If you see a page with the title “Third Party Signup,” you are in the right spot. Enter the text you see in the grey pixelated image in the appropriate field and click Complete Sign Up.
  - You’ll then receive an email from SBA with the title “SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund - Password Reset E-mail.” Click the link included in the email to reset your password.
  - Once you complete your password reset, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Sign and Submit Application to sign your application via DocuSign.
  - The SBA may also require additional documentation for your application if you indicated revenue outside of Square. From the SBA portal, you will be able to upload supporting documentation to the Additional Info Needed section if required by the SBA.

How can you get help if you have more questions?
- We will try to answer as many additional questions as possible here through the weekend.
- Call the SBA call center hotline (844-279-8898): Applicants can call this number for multilingual application or program support.

Reach out to your SBA District Office: Applicants can reach out to their local District Office for tailored regional SBA support.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

View Solution >

thewakezone · ‎04-29-2021

I asked a similar question, hope to see this answered.

danandcatherine · ‎04-29-2021

What kind of support will be available to those who use the Square portal for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund application? Will there be designated Square representatives who are knowledgeable regarding the RRF and available on short notice to assist with applications on Monday when the portal opens up?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @danandcatherine,

Resources on Square Support Center have been updated, and Square Customer Success Advocates are able to answer questions about the Square process and how to apply from the Square Dashboard.

If you have more granular questions about the application process, eligibility, or awards, please reach out to the designated SBA helpline (844-279-8898) or the SBA district office.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

AJHEAH · ‎04-29-2021

So if Square tracks all our revenue it looks like we just access your portal on Monday, login, subtract any PP loans and answer the questions and that's it. Correct? Also, will Square have sufficient bandwidth so we can login to submit the application on Monday?

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

Hey @AJHEAH, That’s right! If you began processing with Square in 2019, we’ll be able to support your application. You’ll be able to confirm your revenue and enter in PPP loan numbers prior to submitting. We have sufficient bandwidth to support the portal opening for applicaiton on Monday.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

1369Coffeehouse · ‎04-29-2021

Is there any value/harm to signing up for an SBA account on Friday if we are going to apply through Square?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

@1369Coffeehouse No, it's not an issue if your registered on Friday. Thanks for checking!

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

1369Coffeehouse · ‎04-29-2021

Will there be any outline/live walkthrough of the application portal between now and Monday?

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

Hey @1369Coffeehouse - There won't be. However, Support Center materials are currently being updated with a more detail FAQ.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

KazusaLove · ‎04-29-2021

What is the 3 recent bank statements? Jan, Feb and March 2021? Or Feb, March and April 2021 since the application start on 5/3?

PPastry · ‎04-29-2021

I would like to know the same to this question please.

NmontaSBA · ‎05-02-2021

@KazusaLove, @PPastry Applicants should upload Feb, March and April 2021, however if April statements are not yet ready they can upload Jan, Feb and March 2021.

Nicola
SBA Guest Speaker
sba.gov/restaurants

dailyg436 · ‎04-29-2021

We just recently started using square, will there be an issue with the SBA being able to access our previous sales figures to confirm our eligibility and grant amount?

NmontaSBA · ‎05-02-2021

@dailyg436 You should apply directly through SBA at restaurants.sba.gov and upload gross receipts documentation.

Nicola
SBA Guest Speaker
sba.gov/restaurants

Melissadeltoro · ‎04-29-2021

Hello,

Will you be providing an example of what the portal will look like to apply for RRF? Can you clarify what information will be needed to enter into this portal when it does become available so we can have this information available?

Also, is Square going to certify the sales reports required for 2019 and 2020 to be submitted for this RRF application automatically on a business' behalf?

-Melissa

thewakezone · ‎04-29-2021

Will we be able to apply for a specific location? We had one location prior to Jan 2019, and added a new location in Sept 2019, so our 2019-2020 gross receipts for the sum of the two locations will not be as accurate as if each location were separated out. Thanks!

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

Hi @thewakezone! If both locations are processing using Square, you’ll be able to indicate when each business open and we’ll annualize calculations based on each location’s opening date.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Important note: The Q&A event today starts at 1:30-2:30 PM PST /4:30 PM-5:30. There is no webinar, video, or registration link associated with this event. The SBA and Square team will be answering all questions directly from this thread. If you've asked a question, you will receive an email update once it's been answered. Please add any questions directly below! 🙏

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

corvonyc · ‎04-29-2021

What if there is a slight discrepancy between my 2019 tax return gross receipts and my 2019 square gross receipts? Which number will be used and will this effect my approval?

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

Hey @corvonyc - if you are applying through Square, then the number used will be the Square gross receipts number.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

ADYA1 · ‎04-29-2021

will all the questions and answers be available to see?

Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for Square Food and Beverage Sellers

When can you apply:

Who can apply through Square:

Why you should or should not apply with Square:

How can you apply with Square:

How can you get help if you have more questions?